Textile scavenger system



' June 22 1926. 1,589,944

F. L. CROCKETT TEXTILE SCAVENGE R SYSTEM Filed June 18, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q, V T01? TTORNEK? June 22 F. L CROCKETT TEXTILE SCAVENGER SYSTEM 2 Shea s-Sheet 2 has FRANK L. CBOCKETT, 0F WHITINSVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WHITIN MACHINE WORKS, OF WHITINSVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAS- SACI-IUSETTS.

TEXTILE SCAVENGER SYSTEM.

Application filed. June 18, 1923. Serial- No. 646,105.

The invention relates to pneumatic means for collecting and disposing at Waste fibres in textile machinery, though applicable to the collection 01" light fibres or similar material in any place whence their removal is desired. It is herein illustrated in its preferred term as applied to the collection of waste cotton fibres from a. cotton combing machine and in this connection may be regarded as an improvement on the scavenging system disclosed in a copending application filed by James J. McGowan, Patent No. 1,479,392. According to the principle of that system the waste cotton fibres are removed from the comber parts by a relatively large volume of air flow to a point of transfer, local to the comber, whence they are removed to a remote stat-ion or common waste bin by means of a relatively smaller air flow which is conducted through a piping system of smaller diameter than that used in the comber. As applied to such a system the present apparatus constitutes an improved means of transferring the fibres from one air How to the other. According to the principle of the present invention, the waste is taken from the place of its production in the comber by a suction airflow of suitable volume and velocity for the purpose. This air fiow is relatively large as compared to the weight of fibre removed. The waste is then sucked, directly out of that flow by another independent suction means, thereby accomplishing its removal to the common waste bin in a most eflicient manner and with no discharge of lint or fly into the mill room air adjacent the comber.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 represents the preferred form of the inven tion as applied to a cotton comber, the latter being shown partly in transverse section and parts of the scavenger system being shown partly in elevation and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a section on line TIIT of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 a section on line IIIIII of 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section on line IVIV of Fig. 2.

The general arrangement of the parts of the cotton comber will be recognized without description, it being understood that the the rotary scavenger brush 1, Which cleans the comb cylinder 2, and also that there are usually some six or more of such brushes according to the number of combing heads in the machine. The suction scavenger sys tem comprises a suction manifold 3 common to all the brushes or combing heads and having a series of suction nozzles 4e directed one toward each brush or otherwise appropriately arranged to collect the Waste fibre from the brush. This manifold forms partof the local suction conduit which includes the down-take passage 5, the chamber 6 and elbow 7 connected to the suction side of a rotary air tan 8, which latter is driven by belt and pulley 9 from a shaft 10 journaled on the comber f "ame or otherwise arranged to receive power from the drive head of the comber so that the tan shall be in oper ation whenever the comber is working. The conduit 3 is supported on the framing of the comber in any suitable Way and the chamber 6 and the suction fan are directly secured to the main girder 11. The fan produces a suction air flow into the nozzle and discharges under the girder or elsewhere, as desired.

The chamber 6 represents an enlargement of the suction passage for reducing the velocity of the air flow, relative to the velocity elsewhere in the passage. The reduced air flow through it is downwards and is intercepted by a screen or foraminous partition 12 so that the fibres carried in the air are caught and collected on the upper surface oi the screen and only pure air, substantially free from fibre, passes to the fan to be delivered by it under the machine, as above stated. For this purpose the screen partition 12 n'iay be made of wire mesh or cloth and of any suitable area, according to the diameter 01 the collecting chamber 6; it is obviously required to be of fairly line source of waste fibres in a comber is 2 rseaeaa mesh in order to constitute an effective filter for cotton fibres and by making the chamber of about the size shown an efficient separation can be accomplished without putting an undue load on the fan.

The fibre deposited on the screen is removed by a nozzle 13 which is preferably rotatable and carried by a central rotating barrel 1st appropriately journaled in the center of the chamber 6 and slow driven by a shaft 15 and belt and pulley 16 from some revolving part of the comber, as, for example, the cam shaft 17. it suitable means of support for the barrel ll and its nozzle 13 is indicated in Fig. 2, wherein the barrel is secured to a head 18 on the saaft 15 and revolves in a central aperture in the screen 12 with its other end projecting through a similar opening in the top wall of the chamber 6, the junction. of the barrel and said wall being guarded by a flange 19 to prevent air leakage. Obviously this mounting is subject to variation according to preference. The upper part of the barrel ll projects into the lower part of a conveyor pipe 20, which latter leads to a main suction manifold 21, 'enerally secured to the mill room ceiling and serving also other machines throughout the room or mill. This pipe is connected to a suction fan 22 located at some remote point and discharging into a waste bin or other place of deposit for the waste fibre.

The nozzle 13 is open at its bottom immediately adjacent the surface screen 12 and on its advancing side 24 is separated from the screen by a somewhat greater distance than on its rear or following side, where it is provided with a heel arranged closely proximate to the upper surface of the screen. The nozzle support also carries a shield 26, somewhat wide than the orifice of the nozzle and directly opposed to it, so that said shield travels with the nozzle, but on the directly opposite side of the screen. The function of the shield is to relieve the fibre collected on the screen 12 from the suction effect of the fan 8, and leave it free to be taken up by the suction flow from the chamber 6 into the nozzle. part of this shield may also serve to protect the oint between the barrel 1% and the screen from leakage, indicated in the drawing,

From the foregoing it will be observed that whenever the cornbcr is set in operation a suction flow is created by the fan 8, and at the same time the nozzle l3 and its shield 26 are slowly revolved over the screen 12. The waste fibre drawn onto the screen by the fan 8 tends to form a matted layer there on, but as the nozzle and shielo move 0 *er it the air flow into the nozzle, produced by the remote fan 22, carries the waste out of the path of the scavenger flow and uj iwardly into the manifold and into the bin ln this way a relatively large volume air flow as compared to the amount of fibre carried does the work of scavenging the working parts of the comber, while a relatively smaller volume of air, considered with reference to the fibre, does the work of transporting the fibre from the comber to the waste bin at a distance, and, as above stated, the transfer from one flow to the other is accomplished without discharging any appreciable amount of lint or dust into the air about the comber, the discharge from the fan 8 being substantially pure air. It will be understood that this effect is due to the employment of a screen of adequate proportions and which constantly cleaned by virtue of the relative movement between itself and the nozzle to keep it from becoming nonpervious and also by virtue of the shielding effect above expla ned which enables the collected waste to be efficiently removed, di rectly from one air flow to the other. The fibre is deposited evenly on the upper surface of the screen by virtue of the presence in the collecting chamber 6 of a baffle wall situated opposite the entrance of the pipe 5. This ballle made of proper width LO prevent a short cut of the air directly to tie elbow 'l' which would produce an unbalanced deposit on the screen and it i: important that means of this, or other character be provided to cause an even distribution of the fibre in order that the nozzle 13 may receive the fibre at a uniform rate and thus work with good elliciency.

I claim:

1.. The combination with the working parts of a textile machine, of a suction fan, an air conduit therefor having a suction inlet associated with said parts and carrying a large volume air flow with reference to the fibre moved thereby, a fibrecollecting screen in said conduit, suction nozzle also within the conduit adapted to remove collected fibre from the screen, means for relatively moving the nozzle and screen, means on the opposite side of the screen from the nozzle adapted to relieve the fibres on the screen from the effect of said large volume air flow and an air pipe connecting said nozzle to a place of remote deposit and carrying av relatively small volume of air flow with reference to the fibre moved through it.

2. The combination with the working parts of a textile machine, of a suction fan, an air conduit in scavenging relation to said parts carrying a large volume air flow with reference to the fibre moved thereby and incl udiug an enlargement constituting a chamber, a fibre-collecting screen in a region of lower air velocity in said chamber, a suction nozzle in said chamber adapted to remove collected fibre from the screen, means for relatively moving the nozzle and screen,

and an air pipe connecting said nozzle to a place of remote deposit and carrying a relatively small volume of air flow with refer ence to the fibre moved through it.

3. The combination with the Working parts of a textile machine, of a suction fan, a suction air conduit in scavenging relation to said parts carrying a large volume air flow with reference to the fibre moved thereby, a fibre-collecting screen located in said conduit, a suction nozzle Within the conduit adapted to remove collected fibre from the screen, a shield extending over and closely parallel to said screen to relieve the fibres from the effect of said larger volume air fioiv, means for relatively moving the nozzle and. screen, and a suction air pipe connect 'ng said nozzle to a place of remote deposit and carrying a relatively small volume of air flow with reference to the fibre moved through it.

1 The combination in a textile machine having a plurality of Working heads, of a suction scavenger conduit common to all or said heads, a suction fan connected to the conduit, said conduit and fan being local to said machine, a fibre-collecting screen intercepting the air flow in the conduit, a suction nozzle Within the conduit adapted to remove collected fibre from the screen, means for relatively moving the nozzle and screen, and a suction a pipe connected with said nozzle to carry the collected fil re from said machine to a place of remote deposit.

5. In apparatus of the kind described, an air scavenger conduit containing a screen, a suction nozzle vithin the conduit adjacent one side of the screen, a shield cooperating with the nozzle on the opposite side of the screen and means for moving said nozzle and shield with relation to said screen whereby the nozzle takes up the material. deposited on the screen.

6. In apparatus of the kind described, a conduit containing a screen, a suction nozzle having a shield opposed to its orifice and arranged with its orifice on one side of the screen and the shield on the opposite side, means for moving the nozzle and shield over the surface of the screen and a suction pipe tor conducting the material talren up b the nozzle to point of remote deposit.

The combination in a textile machine having a plurality of Working heads, of a ction scavenger conduit common to all of said heads and local to said machine, a suction fan mounted on the. machine and connected to said conduit, a fibrecollecting screen intercepting the air flow in said conduit, a suction nozzle Within the conduit adapted to remove the collected fibre from the screen, means driven by the machine for relatively moving the nozzle and screen, a pipe connected With said nozzle to carry the collected. fibre to a place of remote deposit,

and a remote means for creating suction flow through said nozzle and pipe.

8. The combination in a textile machine having a plurality of Working heads, of a suction scavenger conduit common thereto and having an enlargement mounted on the machine frame producing a reduction of flow velocity, a suction fan for said conduit mounted on the machine frame, a fibre-collecting screen intercepting the reduced air flow in said enlargement, a suction nozzle within the conduit adapted to remove collected fibre from the screen, means for relatively moving the nozzle and screen, and a pipe connected with said nozzle to carry the collected fibre to a place of remote deposit.

9. In apparatus of the kind described, a scavenger conduit containing an enlargement producing a reduction of velocity, a screen intercepting the reduced flow, a suction nozzle having a shield opposed to its orifice and arranged With its orifice on one side of the screen and the shield on the opposite side, and means for moving the nozzle and shield over the surface of the screen.

10. In apparatus of the kind described, a scavenger conduit containing a collecting chamber, a screen therein, a suction nozzle having a shield opposed to its orifice and ar ranged With its orifice on one side of the screen and the shield on the opposite side, means for jointly rotating nozzle and shield over the opposite surfaces of the screen and a suction pipe for conducting the material taken up by the nozzle to a point of remote deposit.

11. The combination with the Working parts of a textile machine, of a suction fan, an air conduit having a suction inlet associated with said parts and local thereto, and carrying a large volume air flow with reference to the fibre moved thereby, a fibrecollecting screen in said conduit, a suction nozzle also Within the conduit adapted to remove the collected fibre from the screen, means automatically driven Whenever the machine is operated, for actuating said fan and for relatively moving the nozzle and screen, and a suction pipe connecting said nozzle to a place of remotedeposit and car-- rying relatively small volume of air flou with reference to the fibre moved through it.

n apparatus of the kind described, conduit containing a screen, a suction nozzle having a shield opposed to its orifice and arranged with its orifice on one side of the screen and the shield on the opposite side, means for relatively moving the nozzle and shield with reference to the surface of the screen, a heel on the nozzle and a suction pipe for conducting the material taken up by the nozzle to a point of remote deposit.

13. The combination in textile machin cry, of a suction scavenger conduit, a suction mmneeted to said. conduit screen s11 eonchut, a suctlon nozzle wlthm the u cencmit adapted to remove the collected [five from the screen, :1 shield for the SCEIGQI on-the side eppesite the nozzle means fer .rzlaflvely moving e nozzle and s0 orifice the nozzle being 1'01 ,renmred "130211 the sm'een on dug :-;ide Him unit's epposii'e side t-nneui'e l with said nozzleto cu leci'eu fibre to a p-. e ()f remete 14.. In apparatus eihe kind eescriued, v.11 

